This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Happy 2022! So to kick things off, I’m going to give a quick overview of how I used paid advertising on LinkedIn. (If you’re tired of cold contacting prospects, this is the post for […]
5 Silent Threats to Your Freelance Business (And What to Do About Them)
You can define freelancing a lot of different ways, but my favorite is looking at it as “taking responsibility”…responsibility for marketing, taxes, vacation — in other words, the stuff employers take on in exchange for control over your sleep schedule, availability, and free time…you know how it works. Some responsibility is obvious, but some of […]
How I Put Myself on a Salary (As a Freelancer)
Last updated 11/19/2022 So I finally put myself on a salary. I’m back to the world where I get direct deposit every 2 weeks, and check stubs, and all that employed-person stuff. It’s a little strange after 6+ years of self-employed status — when I just went to sign on a car, I slipped […]
Are You Asking Your Niche for Too Much…or Too Little?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Sometimes we ask people for more than they can give. And sometimes we do the same of our niches. Here’s what I mean. I started in the world of paid writing in combat sports. […]
Is a % Split the Answer to Your Freelance Career Problems?
When I started getting paid as a freelance blogger in my passion niche, I was making $45 a post. It wasn’t bad at the time, but now I make literally 10x that after switching to the niche I have employment experience in. If I ever went back, I probably wouldn’t dedicate more than a couple hours […]
5 Ways to Use Trade Publications to Master Your Niche
This post will help you with Phase 2 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I’m quick to recommend trade publications to basically everybody. That’s because they changed my career (more on that later) but it’s mainly because trade […]
6 Reasons You’re Struggling to Price your Freelance Services (and What to do Next)
We had a really good talk over on Twitter about marketing struggles the other day. A few topics popped up, but one really stood out, and that’s pricing issues. And you know what? Everybody has a hard time with pricing. Go to any platform that supports freelancers and you’ll find posts on the topic. Here’s […]
What is “Strategic Freelancing” Anyway?
I’m a big believer that most of our freelance “failures” eventually point back to not being able to state why we’re freelancing in the first place, and then not having a plan that’s grounded in that ‘why’. If you follow me over on Twitter you’ve probably seen me mention “Strategic Freelancing”. It’s a concept […]
Why My Writing Isn’t Worth $1 Per Word
“If I do a job in 30 minutes it’s because I spent 10 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. You owe me for the years, not the minutes.” There’s a little anecdote that gets passed around a lot in freelance-land and I think some of us are reading it the wrong […]
Short, Mid, Long — Which Marketing Level are You Missing?
Last updated: 11/8/2019 This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I just had broccoli greens for dinner (did you know they’re a cousin to collards? I didn’t). That’s a direct result of being a freelancer. Back when I was employed, I […]